Continuous partial attention

Continuous partial attention is the behavior of dividing one's attention, scanning and optimizing opportunities in an effort to not miss anything that is going on, coined in 1998 by Linda Stone.^[1] While multitasking is driven by a conscious desire to be productive, continuous partial attention is an automatic process motivated by the desire to constantly stay connected. Stone describes the reason for continuous partial attention as "a desire to be a live node on the network"^[2][3][4]

Continuous partial attention may lead to increased stress and decreased ability to focus and concentrate on the present moment, prohibiting reflection, contemplation, and thoughtful decision making.^[2] The constant connectedness that is associated with continuous partial attention may also affect relationships, lower productivity levels,^[5] and lead to overstimulation and a lack of fulfillment.

Stone's research has focused on examples in the United States though she has posited that, "We may not all find ourselves in the same attention era at the same time. We are likely to find ourselves experiencing a flow: attraction to an ideal, taking the expression of the ideal to an extreme and experiencing unintended and less than pleasant consequences, giving birth to and launching a new ideal while integrating the best of what came before."^[2]